Black-footed Cats are the smallest cats in Africa – they only weigh about four pounds! They have interesting markings. Their fur can be from a yellow-brown to a cinnamon color, and they have black spots on their bodies that turn into rings around their legs and tail. They also have fur on their feet to protect them from the hot ground they experience in their habitats.
Black-footed ferrets are native animals to North America. They are part of the order Carnivora and the family Mustelidae. They weigh 1.5 to 2.5 pounds and are 18-24 inches long. They are considered endangered, with only several hundred left in the wild.
Striped Polecats are also known as Zorillas or Zorilles, and they can be found throughout Africa – from the east coast to the South.1 They are about 12-16 inches long, which doesn’t include their tail.
Hiding among the cloud-soaked forests of the Andes Mountains lives an elusive mesocarnivore that has evaded scientific discovery until recently- the olinguito.
European Polecats are part of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, stoats, skunks, martens, mink, and otters.
Mesocarnivores occupy most habitats of the world, even scorching deserts where all life seems to be vacant. With extreme temperature fluctuations and sparse vegetation, it is surprising any animals can survive desert conditions, yet enough primary consumers exist to support several predators. The sand cat is one of those predatory desert specialists who cling to life within one of the harshest habitats on the planet.